The laws recorded in this chapter relate to the
fifth and sixth commandments; and though they are not accommodated
to our constitution, especially in point of servitude, nor are the
penalties annexed binding on us, yet they are of great use for the
explanation of the moral law, and the rules of natural justice.
Here are several enlargements, I. Upon the fifth commandment, which
concerns particular relations. 1. The duty of masters towards their
servants, their men-servants (ver.
2-6), and the maidservants, ver. 7-11. 2. The punishment of disobedient
children that strike their parents (ver. 15), or curse them, ver. 17. II. Upon the sixth commandment,
which forbids all violence offered to the person of a man. Here is,
1. Concerning murder, ver.
12-14. 2. Man-stealing, ver. 16. 3. Assault and battery, ver. 18, 19. 4. Correcting a
servant, ver. 20, 21. 5.
Hurting a woman with child, ver.
22, 23. 6. The law of retaliation, ver. 24, 25. 7. Maiming a servant,
ver. 26, 27. 8. An ox
goring, ver. 28-32. 9.
Damage by opening a pit, ver. 33,
34. 10. Cattle fighting, ver. 35, 36.

Judicial Laws. (b. c. 1491.)

1 Now these are the judgments which thou
shalt set before them. † 2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six
years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for
nothing. † 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by
himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
† 4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him
sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's,
and he shall go out by himself. † 5 And if the servant shall
plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not
go out free: † 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the
judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post;
and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall
serve him for ever. † 7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a
maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. † 8
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself,
then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange
nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully
with her. † 9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he
shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. † 10 If he
take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty
of marriage, shall he not diminish. † 11 And if he do not
these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

The first
verse is the general title of the laws contained in this
and the two following chapters, some of them relating to the
religious worship of God, but most of them relating to matters
between man and man. Their government being purely a Theocracy,
that which in other states is to be settled by human prudence was
directed among them by a divine appointment, so that the
constitution of their government was peculiarly adapted to make
them happy. These laws are called judgments, because they
are framed in infinite wisdom and equity, and because their
magistrates were to give judgment according to the people. In the
doubtful cases that had hitherto occurred, Moses had particularly
enquired of God for them, as appeared, ch. xviii. 15; but now God gave him
statutes in general by which to determine particular cases, which
likewise he must apply to other like cases that might happen,
which, falling under the same reason, fell under the same rule. He
begins with the laws concerning servants, commanding mercy and
moderation towards them. The Israelites had lately been servants
themselves; and now that they had become, not only their own
masters, but masters of servants too, lest they should abuse their
servants, as they themselves had been abused and ruled with rigour
by the Egyptian task-masters, provision was made by these laws for
the mild and gentle usage of servants. Note, If those who have had
power over us have been injurious to us this will not in the least
excuse us if we be in like manner injurious to those who are under
our power, but will rather aggravate our crime, because, in that
case, we may the more easily put our souls into their soul's stead.
Here is,

I. A law concerning men-servants, sold,
either by themselves or their parents, through poverty, or by the
judges, for their crimes; even those of the latter sort (if
Hebrews) were to continue in slavery but seven years at the most,
in which time it was taken for granted that they would sufficiently
have smarted for their folly or offence. At the seven years' end
the servant should either go out free (v. 2, 3), or his servitude should
thenceforward be his choice, v. 5, 6. If he had a wife given him
by his master, and children, he might either leave them and go out
free himself, or, if he had such a kindness for them that he would
rather tarry with them in bondage than go out at liberty without
them, he was to have his ear bored through to the doorpost and
serve till the death of his master, or the year of jubilee.

1. By this law God taught, (1.) The Hebrew
servants generosity, and a noble love of liberty, for they were the
Lord's freemen; a mark of disgrace must be put upon him who refused
liberty when he might have it, though he refused it upon
considerations otherwise laudable enough. Thus Christians, being
bought with a price, and called unto liberty, must not be
the servants of men, nor of the lusts of men, 1 Cor. vii. 23. There is a free and princely
spirit that much helps to uphold a Christian, Ps. li. 12. He likewise taught, (2.) The
Hebrew masters not to trample upon their poor servants, knowing,
not only that they had been by birth upon a level with them, but
that, in a few years, they would be so again. Thus Christian
masters must look with respect on believing servants, Philem. 16.

2. This law will be further useful to us,
(1.) To illustrate the right God has to the children of believing
parents, as such, and the place they have in his church. They are
by baptism enrolled among his servants, because they are born in
his house, for they are therefore born unto him,
Ezek. xvi. 20. David owns
himself God's servant, as he was the son of his handmaid
(Ps. cxvi. 16), and
therefore entitled to protection, Ps.
lxxxvi. 16. (2.) To explain the obligation which the
great Redeemer laid upon himself to prosecute the work of our
salvation, for he says (Ps. xl.
6), My ears hast thou opened, which seems to
allude to this law. He loved his Father, and his captive spouse,
and the children that were given him, and would not go out free
from his undertaking, but engaged to serve in it for ever,
Isa. xlii. 1, 4. Much
more reason have we thus to engage ourselves to serve God for ever;
we have all the reason in the world to love our Master and his
work, and to have our ears bored to his door-posts, as those who
desire not to go out free from his service, but to be found more
and more free to it, and in it, Ps.
lxxxiv. 10.

Concerning maid-servants, whom their
parents, through extreme poverty, had sold, when they were very
young, to such as they hoped would marry them when they grew up; if
they did not, yet they must not sell them to strangers, but rather
study how to make them amends for the disappointment; if they did,
they must maintain them handsomely, v. 7-11. Thus did God provide for
the comfort and reputation of the daughters of Israel, and has
taught husbands to give honour to their wives (be their
extraction ever so mean) as to the weaker vessels, 1 Pet. iii. 7.

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall
be surely put to death. † 13 And if a man lie not in wait, but
God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a
place whither he shall flee. † 14 But if a man come
presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou
shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. † 15 And he
that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to
death. † 16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if
he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. † 17
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put
to death. † 18 And if men strive together, and one smite
another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but
keepeth his bed: † 19 If he rise again, and walk abroad
upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only
he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause
him to be thoroughly healed. † 20 And if a man smite
his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he
shall be surely punished. † 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue
a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his
money.

Here is, I. A law concerning murder. He had
lately said, Thou shalt not kill; here he provides, 1. For
the punishing of wilful murder (v. 12): He that smiteth a man,
whether upon a sudden passion or in malice prepense, so that he
die, the government must take care that the murderer be put
to death, according to that ancient law (Gen. ix. 6), Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by
man shall his blood be shed. God, who by his providence gives
and maintains life, thus by his law protects it; so that mercy
shown to a wilful murderer is real cruelty to all mankind besides:
such a one, God here says, shall be taken even from his
altar (v. 14),
to which he might flee for protection; and, if God will not shelter
him, let him flee to the pit, and let no man stay him. 2.
For the relief of such as killed by accident, per
infortuniumóby misfortune, or chance-medley, as our law
expresses it, when a man, in doing a lawful act, without intent of
hurt to any, happens to kill another, or, as it is here described,
God delivers him into his hand; for nothing comes to pass by
chance; what seems to us purely casual is ordered by the divine
Providence, for wise and holy ends secret to us. In this case God
provided cities of refuge for the protection of those whose
infelicity it was, but not their fault, to occasion the death of
another, v. 13. With
us, who know no avengers of blood but the magistrates, the law
itself is a sufficient sanctuary for those whose minds are
innocent, though their hands are guilty, and there needs no
other.

II. Concerning rebellious children. It is
here made a capital crime, to be punished with death, for children
either, 1. To strike their parents (v. 15) so as either to draw blood or
to make the place struck black and blue. Or, 2. To curse their
parents (v. 17), if
they profaned any name of God in doing it, as the rabbies say.
Note, The undutiful behaviour of children towards their parents is
a very great provocation to God our common Father; and, if men do
not punish it, he will. Those are perfectly lost to all virtue, and
abandoned to all wickedness, that have broken through the bonds of
filial reverence and duty to such a degree as in word or action to
abuse their own parents. What yoke will those bear that have shaken
off this? Let children take heed of entertaining in their minds any
such thought or passions towards their parents as savour of
undutifulness and contempt; for the righteous God searches the
heart.

III. Here is a law against man-stealing
(v. 16): He that
steals a man (that is, a person, man, woman, or child), with
design to sell him to the Gentiles (for no Israelite would buy
him), was adjudged to death by this statute, which is ratified by
the apostle (1 Tim. i. 10),
where men-stealers are reckoned among those wicked ones
against whom laws must be made by Christian princes.

IV. Care is here taken that satisfaction be
made for hurt done to a person, though death do not ensue,
v. 18, 19. He
that did the hurt must be accountable for damages, and pay, not
only for the cure, but for the loss of time, to which the Jews add
that he must likewise give some recompence both for the pain and
for the blemish, if there were any.

V. Direction is given what should be done
if a servant died by his master's correction. This servant must not
be an Israelite, but a Gentile slave, as the negroes to our
planters; and it is supposed that he smite him with a rod, and not
with any thing that was likely to give a mortal wound; yet, if he
died under his hand, he should be punished for his cruelty, at the
discretion of the judges, upon consideration of circumstances,
v. 20. But, if he
continued a day or two after the correction given, the master was
supposed to suffer enough by losing his servant, v. 21. Our law makes the death of a
servant, by his master's reasonable beating of him, but
chance-medley. Yet let all masters take heed of tyrannizing
over their servants; the gospel teaches them even to forbear and
moderate threatenings (Eph. vi.
9), considering with holy Job, What shall I do, when
God riseth up? Job xxxi.
13-15.

22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child,
so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief
follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's
husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges
determine. † 23 And if any mischief follow, then
thou shalt give life for life, † 24 Eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, † 25 Burning for burning,
wound for wound, stripe for stripe. † 26 And if a man smite
the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he
shall let him go free for his eye's sake. † 27 And if he smite
out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall
let him go free for his tooth's sake. † 28 If an ox gore a man
or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and
his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall
be quit. † 29 But if the ox were wont to push with his
horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he
hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the
ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
† 30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall
give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. †
31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according
to this judgment shall it be done unto him. † 32 If the ox
shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their
master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. †
33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and
not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; † 34 The owner
of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto
the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his. †
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall
sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead
ox also they shall divide. † 36 Or if it be known that
the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept
him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his
own.

Observe here,

I. The particular care which the law took
of women with child, that no hurt should be done them which might
occasion their mis-carrying. The law of nature obliges us to be
very tender in that case, lest the tree and fruit be destroyed
together, v. 22,
23. Women with child, who are thus taken under the
special protection of the law of God, if they live in his fear, may
still believe themselves under the special protection of the
providence of God, and hope that they shall be saved in
child-bearing. On this occasion comes in that general law of
retaliation which our Saviour refers to, Matt. v. 38, An eye for an eye. Now, 1.
The execution of this law is not hereby put into the hands of
private persons, as if every man might avenge himself, which would
introduce universal confusion, and make men like the fishes of the
sea. The tradition of the elders seems to have put this corrupt
gloss upon it, in opposition to which our Saviour commands us to
forgive injuries, and not to meditate revenge, Matt. v. 39. 2. God often executes it in the
course of his providence, making the punishment, in many cases, to
answer to the sin, as Judg. i. 7; Isa. xxxiii. 1;
Hab. ii. 13; Matt. xxvi. 52. 3. Magistrates ought to
have an eye to this rule in punishing offenders, and doing right to
those that are injured. Consideration must be had of the nature,
quality, and degree of the wrong done, that reparation may be made
to the party injured, and others deterred from doing the like;
either an eye shall go for an eye, or the forfeited
eye shall be redeemed by a sum of money. Note, He that does wrong
must expect one way or other to receive according to the wrong
he has done, Col. iii.
25. God sometimes brings men's violent dealings upon
their own heads (Ps. vii.
16); and magistrates are in this the ministers of the
justice, that they are avengers (Rom. xiii. 4), and they shall not bear the
sword in vain.

II. The care God took of servants. If their
masters maimed them, though it was only striking out a tooth, that
should be their discharge, v. 26, 27. This was intended, 1. To
prevent their being abused; masters would be careful not to offer
them any violence, lest they should lose their service. 2. To
comfort them if they were abused; the loss of a limb should be the
gaining of their liberty, which would do something towards
balancing both the pain and disgrace they underwent. Nay,

III. Does God take care for oxen?
Yes, it appears by the following laws in this chapter that he does,
for our sakes, 1 Cor. ix. 9,
10. The Israelites are here directed what to do,

1. In case of hurt done by oxen, or any
other brute-creature; for the law, doubtless, was designed to
extend to all parallel cases. (1.) As an instance of God's care of
the life of man (though forfeited a thousand times into the hands
of divine justice), and in token of his detestation of the sin of
murder, and you can find
more about that here on
st-takla.org on other commentaries and
dictionary entries. If an ox killed any man, woman, or child, the ox was to be
stoned (v.
28); and, because the greatest honour of the inferior
creatures is to be serviceable to man, the criminal is denied that
honour: his flesh shall not be eaten. Thus God would keep up
in the minds of his people a rooted abhorrence of the sin of murder
and every thing that was barbarous. (2.) To make men careful that
none of their cattle might do hurt, but that, by all means
possible, mischief might be prevented. If the owner of the beast
knew that he was mischievous, he must answer for the hurt done,
and, according as the circumstances of the case proved him to be
more or less accessory, he must either be put to death or
ransom his life with a sum of money, v. 29-32. Some of our ancient books
make this felony, by the common law of England, and give this
reason, "The owner, by suffering his beast to go at liberty when he
knew it to be mischievous, shows that he was very willing that hurt
should be done." Note, It is not enough for us not to do mischief
ourselves, but we must take care that no mischief be done by those
whom it is in our power to restrain, whether man or beast.

2. In case of hurt done to oxen, or other
cattle. (1.) If they fall into a pit, and perish there, he that
opened the pit must make good the loss, v. 33, 34. Note, We must take heed
not only of doing that which will be hurtful, but of doing that
which may be so. It is not enough not to design and devise
mischief, but we must contrive to prevent mischief, else we become
accessory to our neighbours' damage. Mischief done in malice is the
great transgression; but mischief done through negligence, and for
want of due care and consideration, is not without fault, but ought
to be reflected upon with great regret, according as the degree of
the mischief is: especially we must be careful that we do nothing
to make ourselves accessory to the sins of others, by laying an
occasion of offence in our brother's way, Rom. xiv. 13. (2.) If cattle fight, and one
kill another, the owners shall equally share in the loss, v. 35. Only if the beast that
had done the harm was known to the owner to have been mischievous
he shall answer for the damage, because he ought either to have
killed him or kept him up, v.
36. The determinations of these cases carry with them
the evidence of their own equity, and give such rules of justice as
were then, and are still, in use, for the decision of similar
controversies that arise between man and man. But I conjecture that
these cases might be specified, rather than others (though some of
them seem minute), because they were then cases in fact actually
depending before Moses; for in the wilderness where they lay
closely encamped, and had their flocks and herds among them, such
mischiefs as these last mentioned were likely enough to occur. That
which we are taught by these laws is that we should be very careful
to do no wrong, either directly or indirectly; and that, if we have
done wrong, we must be very willing to make satisfaction, and
desirous that nobody may lose by us.